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LONDON—The looming market for inexpensive, secondhand Airbus Group SE A380 superjumbos could attract new airline customers for a plane that has struggled to win orders, the boss of the European plane maker said on Thursday.

Airbus Chief Executive Fabrice Bré gier said he expects the used A380 market to start emerging around 2020 when some of the first superjumbos to enter airline service are phased out by their operators. Singapore Airlines was the first airline to fly the A380 commercially in 2007.

"[The secondhand market] I believe it will be a good opportunity for airlines that just cannot afford such a big and expensive aircraft. They will have a possibility to have it at least at half price," Mr. Bré gier said at the Aviation Club in London.

None of the early operators have said when they would start phasing out their early planes. Emirates Airline President Tim Clark last week said the first of its A380 planes is due to be phased out around 2021, though it may opt to retain the plane. Emirates Airline started operating A380s in 2008 and had a fleet of 79 as of the end of May.

Mr. Bré gier said buyers of used superjumbos "will make tons of money because it will be by far the most competitive [aircraft]."

Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines Group SA, has said the company may buy some used A380s. British Airways as of last month already operated 11 of the dozen A380s it had ordered. Mr. Walsh said he is interested in a few more, but only at lower cost.

Airbus is betting that by exposing the double-decker to new customers and routes will eventually help spur interest in an aircraft that can seat more than 600 passengers and costs $432.6 million each at list price, even though buyers typically get discounts.

Securing new orders has been a struggle for Airbus, Mr. Bré gier said, adding that "the challenge is to promote the aircraft more aggressively."

All Nippon Airways late last year agreed to buy three of the planes and Iran Air in January said it planned to take 12, though the deal still needs to be completed. Other airlines, such as Air Austral, Kingfisher Airlines and Hong Kong Airways, ordered the plane and then reversed course.

The A380 has proved popular with passengers, though airline buyers have shied away because of concern whether they can sell enough seats on the large plane. Mr. Bré gier said Airbus will try to reach out more directly to passengers with plans to launch a website that will allow them to see on what routes the double-decker operates and directly book tickets.

Airbus for years lost money on delivering A380s and last year reached break-even for the first time. Airbus has worked to cut production costs, though Mr. Bré gier said "we are still struggling to be break even." It's a target the company has committed to meet again this year and next.

The focus on selling current models also means that plans for an upgraded version, which Emirates Airline's Mr. Clark has called for, will remain on ice for now. Building the enhanced version, dubbed the A380neo, "will take longer than we both expected," Mr. Bré gier said of previous discussions with the Dubai-based carrier. Given the focus on selling current models, he said "moving to a big investment on this program is probably not the smart thing we can do now."

Write to Robert Wall at robert.wall@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 09, 2016 12:25 ET (16:25 GMT)

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